June 8, 2005

Dear East Longmeadow Resident:

There are two areas of the town budget which fall under the purview of the East Longmeadow Board of Selectmen that have caused great concern among the members of the board for several years. Those areas are employee health care costs and trash disposal costs. Both of these areas have received a great deal of attention from the board in recent years. Health care costs are often subject to market forces. The problem of rising health care costs has become a national concern. Sometimes a municipality can do very little to rein in these expenses. In other areas, steps have been taken to keep these costs in check. The Scantic Valley Regional Health Trust, of which East Longmeadow is a member, tracks national trends and has taken steps in an effort to control these expenses. Controlling health care costs is an ongoing battle.

For almost three years the Board of Selectmen has also engaged in discussions with citizens over spiraling trash removal and disposal costs. The Solid Waste Advisory Team (SWAT) was formed by the board in 2003 and was originally comprised of eight members. This group of citizens was asked to look at a wide range of trash disposal issues facing the town and to advise the board on any cost saving measures which would encourage the responsible disposal of trash and recyclables. Over the intervening months its membership has dwindled to just two active members and the board’s call for volunteers has gone unanswered. After months of fact-finding and public meetings, the SWAT Team reported back to the Board of Selectmen in the fall of 2004 suggesting that the town consider a full pay-as-you-throw trash disposal program. The goal of such a plan is to decrease waste disposal while encouraging recycling. The board considers the input of this citizen advisory panel (and all such panels) to be quite valuable.

The trash pick-up contract between Waste Management, Inc. and the Town of East Longmeadow was due to expire on June 30, 2004. The Board of Selectmen elected to extend that contract for one additional year so its expiration would coincide with the expiration of the trash pick-up contract between the Town of Longmeadow and their contractor service provider. The idea was that if two towns negotiated contracts for similar services, there may be some savings due to the economy of scale. A group of town officials from East Longmeadow and Longmeadow began to meet in December of 2004 to discuss these possibilities. Representatives of the Town of Wilbraham also joined in these discussions. Arlene Miller, a Longmeadow resident and Recycling Coordinator for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) also took part in these meetings and played an important advisory role in our discussions. This group met numerous times, discussing options available to the towns and interviewing potential vendors for our trash hauling contract. A request for proposals was put out in March of 2005 asking that potential vendors provide quotes for trash pickup services for each individual town as well as for all three towns as one entity. Several possible methods of trash collection were to be considered by these vendors including automated pickup, pay-as-you throw and the present method of trash pickup used in each of the towns today. Our thought that a regional approach to trash pickup might provide a savings to the towns proved to be unfounded. The contract proposals received by the towns suggested that the three towns would be no better off financially by entering into a regional contract than we would if we entered into separate agreements. It was an interesting process for all and the knowledge shared between the towns provides a model of cooperation that we hope will be carried over into other areas of town government.

In early May, after much deliberation, the East Longmeadow Board of Selectmen voted to enter into a five year contract with a trash hauler, Central Massachusetts Disposal, Inc., an Auburn, Massachusetts company with local offices in Palmer.

In order to understand the overall impact of this contract, one must understand the entire trash management process and the three tiers of costs / earnings that make up our solid waste budget. The town’s solid waste costs can be broken into two parts, collection and disposal. Each of these two areas is independent of the other for budgetary purposes. To accomplish the collection aspect, a vendor (Central Mass.) removes the refuse left at the curbside by residents. For this service, the town pays a flat fee (recently contracted at $522,370 per year). This is a fixed cost.

The second facet is the actual disposal cost (referred to as a “tipping fee”). The Town of East Longmeadow is currently in the tenth year of a twenty year contract with ECO/Springfield (ECO) for disposal services. This service is based solely on tonnage. The town, through its trash removal budget, pays $69.70 per ton to dispose of trash. This per-ton fee is slated to increase by 3% as of July 1, 2005 to $71.79 per ton. This cost, by its very nature, is not a fixed cost. It fluctuates, based on how many tons of waste that the town disposes of annually. We can, however, control these costs merely by reducing the number of tons of trash we throw away.

The third tier is an income stream derived from recycling. The town is in the first year of a ten-year contract with Recycle America Alliance at the Springfield Materials Recycling Facility (MRF). Under this contract, we receive $15.67 for each ton of recyclable materials we deliver to that facility (plus additional money from revenue sharing). This income stream, much like the “tipping fee” can be controlled through the recycling efforts of our residents. The more recyclables disposed of at the MRF, the more income the town derives.

To state it quite simply, the town has little control over pickup costs. These costs are static regardless of the tonnage picked up and hauled to the disposal site (ECO). The two areas where the resident can have some influence is in the actual disposal (reducing tonnage results in a savings to the entire community) and in recycling (increasing recycling tonnage results in more income).

The information presented to the board by the DEP was that other communities (Wrentham and Brockton for example) that engaged in a waste reduction program saw a 25 to 30% reduction in tonnage disposed of. Where does this reduction come from? A pay-as-you-throw (or waste reduction) program encourages recycling. Recycling efforts increase somewhere in the area of 20 to 25%. The end result - the town controls disposal fees and encourages recycling. Recycling efforts bring income to the town – plain and simple.

Based on FY 2005 costs and projected costs for FY 2006, the town could realize a cost benefit somewhere in the area of $200,000. This figure is based on actual savings and some cost-avoidance projections – money that we will not have to ask the taxpayers for because we have changed our trash collection system.

Two hundred thousand dollars - this is a substantial sum of money in a town that is asking its residents to approve a Proposition 2 ½ override to merely maintain the present level of services in some departments. Yes, the Board of Selectmen is presenting the citizens of the Town of East Longmeadow with a means of saving tax dollars in FY 2006 by merely asking that each family take responsibility for the waste stream generated in that household. This type of potential savings is a rare sight in the Commonwealth in these difficult fiscal times.

Here are some facts we ask you to consider. In FY 2005 the town’s pickup fees with Waste Management were approximately $449,243.00. Under our new contract with Central Mass. Our pickup fees in FY 2006 will be $522,370.00. The new contract represents a net increase of $73,147.00. However, if we stayed with the same plan with the present vendor, Waste Management, our pickup costs would reach $550,000.00 - an increase of over FY 2005 - $100,757.00.

In FY 2005 the town paid tipping fees of approximately $351,985 – 5050 tons @ $ 69.70 per ton. Remember, this per-ton fee is slated to increase by 3% as of July 1, 2005 to $71.79 per ton. Based on these figures, and estimates provided by the DEP, our tipping fees in FY 2006 (using the $71.79 per ton fee) will be $362,539.50. Remember, the DEP tells us that we can expect to see a 25% to 30% reduction in waste with a waste reduction program. Using these estimates we can expect to save between $90,635.50 and $108,762.50 in FY 2006 in tipping fees. A 25% reduction in waste means we will dispose of only 3787.5 tons in FY 2006 equaling a cost of $271,904 – saving the taxpayer approximately $90,635.50. If we use the same figures and assume a 30% reduction in waste we will dispose of 3535 tons costing $253,777.00 - saving the taxpayer approximately $108,762.50.

Now let’s look at the revenue generated by recycling. In FY 2005 the town realized income in the amount of $25,839 from recycling. We disposed of 1649 tons @ $15.67 per ton. But the DEP projects an increase in recycling of 20% to 25% if we institute a waste reduction program. Again, using those assumptions we should realize an increase in recycling to somewhere between 2028 tons (20% increase) and 2104 tons (25%). Using those projections, we should realize somewhere between $31,788.76 and $32,969.68. In addition, we are the beneficiaries of a revenue-sharing arrangement with the MRF that is projected to net an additional $15.00 per ton for recyclables. Using the DEP projected figures, our revenue from recycling in FY 2006 should be somewhere between $62,198.76 and $64,529.68 – a net increase in revenue from recycling of $36,359.76 to $38,690.68.

Here are some features of the new trash pickup program of which all residents should be aware:

- Trash pickup will occur weekly instead of bi-weekly. Residents who have paid an extra fee for weekly pickup under the present contract will immediately realize a savings of $72.00 per year. You will no longer pay for trash collection on those off weeks.

- Weekly trash disposal will be limited to one trash receptacle (bag or barrel) which shall not exceed 35 gallons. The individual homeowner will be responsible for purchasing this receptacle. Anything in excess of this 35 gallon barrel should be placed in a designated type bag which will be available in area stores for a cost of $1.75 per bag.

- The revenue from bag sales will be used by the town to further defray the cost of trash disposal fees.

- Recycling will occur weekly. Paper and cardboard will be picked up on one week. Glass, plastic, cans and other recyclables will be picked up on the next week.

- Recycling is unlimited. There is no limit to the amount of recyclables which can be left for pickup. More recycling “blue-bins” will be made available to town residents beginning in late June.

There are some misconceptions being discussed in the arena of public discussion that have clouded the issues facing this community with regard to the trash pickup contract. I would like to address these.

- “According to media reports, Longmeadow got a better deal than East Longmeadow.” NOT TRUE. The truth is that our trash pickup contracts are quite similar. However residents of Longmeadow will be able to leave an unlimited amount of trash out for curbside pickup. At the end of FY ’06 let’s compare our trash disposal costs and income stream created by recycling. We feel that, in the end, the Town of East Longmeadow will fare better than our neighbors to the west.

- “Springfield has unlimited pickup.” NOT TRUE. Springfield limits the amount of trash that the individual homeowner can dispose of to 96 gallons per week. But, Springfield also has a Control Board, has faced huge reductions in municipal services, and is the subject of an ongoing federal corruption probe. In spite of the great admiration we have for the present mayor of City of Springfield and my respect for some members of the City Council, Springfield is hardly a model of fiscal responsibility. A recent consultant’s report has recommended that the city review their solid waste disposal practices.

- “Bags will only be available at town hall during business hours.” NOT TRUE. These bags will be made available through several area stores (Big Y, Stop & Shop, CVS, Walgreen’s, A.W. Brown, Rocky’s, and Romito’s ).

- “Our old (larger) trash containers will have no further use.” Again - NOT TRUE. These containers can be marked with the word “RECYCLING” and used for disposal of plastic, glass and other recyclable materials.

- “Rubbish left in plastic bags will be destroyed and strewn about by animals.” Nothing will prohibit a resident from storing their full pay-as-you-throw bags in a trash receptacle. This will help protect against destruction by animals and allow for storage of trash. However, if a resident leaves out more than their allotted 35 gallon container, and that overage is not in an official town trash bag, it will not be picked up.

- “This plan will encourage illegal dumping.” – The anecdotal evidence from DEP tells us that this is not true. Also, recent news report from Springfield described the illegal dumping in that city that has caused concern in several neighborhoods. Remember, Springfield residents can dispose of up to 96 gallons of waste each week. It is our belief that illegal dumping is an issue of community pride (or the lack thereof) more than anything else. People who are not stakeholders in their community do not exercise the same level of ownership in that community.

The members of the Board of Selectmen have emphasized that there must be a concerted effort among the residents to make this work. In difficult fiscal times we need the cooperation and participation of all citizens in this effort to rein in these spiraling costs. With a bit of effort, we can accomplish two worthy goals.

One final thought. In these times of budget cuts and Proposition 2½ overrides we should all be looking at ways to control costs in every aspect of town government. The Board of Selectmen has presented you with a solution to a problem – a solution which will require some individual efforts and sacrifices, but one that will result in an overall savings. What we have not done is to come to you with an outstretched hand asking you – the taxpayer - for more money to fund trash disposal.

Very respectfully yours,

East Longmeadow Board of Selectmen

JOHN M. CLAFFEY, Chair

JAMES DRISCOLL

GARY DELISLE